PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Neighbors rallied against the possible demolition of the Flint Avenue Bridge as part of the I-5 freeway expansion on Tuesday morning.
Billed as the “Save the Flint Avenue Bridge” Rally, The No More Freeway Expansions Coalition demonstrated in front of commuters on the Flint Avenue crossing of I-5.
The Oregon Department of Transportation plans to spent $450 million on the project, adding lanes to I-5 to reconstruct the I-84 interchange, funded in part by new tolls authorized by the bill.
Neighbors in the area say the freeway expansion will not help congestion and will be harmful to students at Harriet Tubman Middle School, set to open next year.
“There isn’t a single city in North America that has expanded a freeway ever and saw that their traffic got any better. It just encourages people to drive more, and we think there are better ways to spend that money,” Aaron Brown with the No More Freeway Expansion Coalition tells KOIN 6 News.
ODOT says construction won’t start for at least another four years.
Read more about the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project here.
